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They would meet again in round-robin play at worlds, but there would be no lucky seventh meeting. Canada suffered its first loss of the tournament, falling to the Germans once more, 64-53.

So when Canada and Germany met one last time five days later to decide the world title, you would think the hosts would be wondering what they had to do to beat the world’s top-ranked team.

Melanie Hawtin said the team already had the answer.

“They beat us every single game, but we were never really scared of them,” the 25-year-old Oakville native said. “We took something from every single and learned what we could do better and what situations we were going to face. Even when they beat us at worlds, we were fully confident we could turn it around.”

And they did.

Tied 42-42 with 5:35 to play in the final, Canada went on an 8-0 run. Germany cut the lead to two in the final minute, but Canada held on for a 54-50 victory and in front of the home Toronto crowd.

“It was a pretty awesome experience,” Hawtin said of her national team debut. “Honestly, the couple of months leading up to worlds, I was so excited. To host it, and to actually experience it and see the crowd every day, it was incredible. The whole thing to me — I still can’t believe I’m on the Canadian national team.”

It was not Hawtin’s first time representing her country. She competed for Canada at the world junior wheelchair athletics championships, winning a silver medal in the 200m in 2006. But as she was beginning preparations to earn a spot on the Canadian team for the Paralympics in 2012, surgery left her unable to sit in her track chair.

She had played basketball occasionally in the past so when she was unable to compete in track, she switched her focus to basketball. She played at the Ontario Games and caught the eye of national team coaches. She was awarded a development card, giving her the opportunity to train at the Wheelchair Basketball Canada academy in Scarborough. Though she didn’t make the team last year, she continued to work on her game and in January earned a spot on the Canadian team. The timing could not have been better with Toronto playing host to worlds.

Canada had once dominated women’s wheelchair basketball, winning seven of eight world and Paralympic golds from 1992 to 2006. But recently, the rest of the world had caught up. Canada settled for bronze at the last worlds in 2010 and finished off the podium (fifth and sixth) at the past two Paralympics.

Hawtin, who used her speed from her track days to her advantage, was one of three first-time national team players. But from the first time she checked in during Canada’s opener against Japan, she didn’t feel nervous.

“I think what helped me though was my teammates. I was one of the few new people on the team, but the vets stepped up a lot, so I never felt like I was freaking out. Everybody had my back and that made me feel so comfortable.”

Hawtin played just four minutes in that first game but went on to play in seven of Canada’s eight games, averaging 11 minutes (seventh most on the team). That included more than 20 minutes in the round-robin game against Germany, where she scored her first three points with the national team.

“I ended up getting a lot of court time at worlds, which I was not expecting,” Hawtin said.

After going 4-1 in round-robin play, Canada defeated Australia 63-47 then pulled out a thrilling 75-74 semifinal win over the Netherlands on Janet McLachlan’s basket with less than a second to play.

Coming from an individual sport, Hawtin said it was impressive to see the teamwork the Canadians showed.

“It’s way more difficult to come together as a team,” she said. “That makes (winning gold) that much more special.”

That was on full display again the following day when Canada took all the lessons learned from its seven losses to beat Germany in the final.

Days after the victory, Hawtin was still trying to come to terms with being a world champion.

“That’s going to take a bit,” she said. “It’s hard to believe how far I’ve come and I just hope to continue to get the chance to continue playing with this amazing group of ladies.”